Leyte’s winners proclaimed

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Winning candidates in Leyte province were officially proclaimed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers yesterday, except those in the 2nd congressional district due to the technical problems.

Comelec-Leyte officer-in-charge supervisor Corazon Montallana, who chaired the PBOC, said the board decided to defer the canvassing for the district until Monday.

The SD card for the returns of Dulag town, which has more than 25,000 voters had to be brought first to the Comelec central office in Manila to fix its problem, she said.

However, only the winner of the congressional seat in the 2nd district remained to be determined, although based on the final but unofficial results coming from 13 towns, except for Dulag’s, candidate Henry Ong already had 105,491 votes against incumbent Representative Sergio Apostol who got 90,521 votes.

“With more than 25,000 voters in Dulag, the PBOC have to count the returns first before the official proclamation of the congressional winner,” Montallana said.

Apostol, despite efforts to get his statement on his possible defeat, maintained his silence except by saying: “Let’s wait until Dulag votes will be officially counted.”

Carigara town Mayor Eduardo Ong, elder brother of Henry, was already proclaimed the other day by the Commelec as duly re-elected mayor against Provincial Board Member Anlie Apostol.

Anlie, daughter of Rep. Apostol, once served as Carigara mayor for three terms before. She also refused to comment on her failure to retake her post from Ong.

In the 3rd district, Ching Veloso edged his rival Mayor Tingting Salvacion of Leyte town, by only 56 votes, ending the stronghold of the Salvacions in the district. Tingting is the daughter of Rep. Andy Salvacion.

Veloso, together with re-elected Reps. Boying Cari of the 5th district and Lucy Torres Gomez of the 4th district, were already proclaimed winners in the election.

Lucy’s younger brother, Emmanuel Vincent Torres, who won a seat in the Provincial Board (4th district), and husband Richard Gomez, who won as mayor of Ormoc City, were also proclaimed by the Comelec lately.

Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto who clinched another term, as he ran unopposed, was among those officially proclaimed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Police Regional Office-8 Director, Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villlacorte, in a briefing with the local media yesterday, said he was grateful with the peaceful and credible performance of the conduct of the May 9 elections in the region.

“For the first time through the past five elections, there were no reported election-related violence in the region, even in places declared as ‘immediate areas of concern,’” he said, as he credited the candidates themselves and their supporters for fulfilling their commitment to make the May 9 election secured and peaceful.

“Of course the police and the military had coordinated their efforts in achieving the goals,” Villacorte added. (FREEMAN)